This book is indeed a masterpiece and it is great for someone who is studying to be an engineer or is interested in architecture. It is fantastic and has everything from the Lovely Louvre to the palace at Petra, from the Great Golden Gate to the construction of the Chrysler. It shows fine examples of art deco, modern, classical, Greek, Muslim etc. architectural wonders. It not only explains and shows the construction of these great buildings, but for certain buildings it also shows their plan, it's legends, along with information about who built it, why did they build it, whom did it build it for, when was it built, and where it is. It also has sections showing the greatest styles of architecture ever used along with a series of historic sites in the world. All in all this is a fantastic and very useful guide to the masterpieces of Architecture and Engineering.

-------------------------AHMED MASHHOOD--------------------------

This examination of Yoruba art covers a lot of ground, temporally and geographically. It covers the Yoruba kingdom by kingdom, looking at historical objects within each area. Accessible even to those without any knowledge of African art, it also has lots to interest the specialist--some controversial views on women's roles in Ife art, assignment of Esie carvings to the Yoruba and some previously unassigned bronzes to Ijebu, identification of particular artists' work and more. Written by three experts who specialize in different Yoruba areas, the writing is seamless and well-edited, neither talking down to the reader nor unduly academic in tone. The accompanying illustrations are superb, and many are contextual images. This book introduces Yoruba philosophy, religion, oral literature, and political organization interwoven with art, providing an excellent cultural overview. I use it as a university text, but it would serve as a beautiful addition to the library of anyone interested in Africa, particularly those who want to know more about this creative ethnic group which has left such an impact on the cultures of the Americas.

First off, I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Part I and absolutely adored Henry V. Having said that, I found Part II to be enjoyable, yet perhaps leaving something to be desired - like more action. Falstaff and Prince Hal both come off as somewhat disingenuous and calculating Machiavellian individuals. Disappointingly, Falstaff speaks poorly of Prince Hal while unwittingly in his midst. Conversely, The Prince of Wales prematurely takes the crown before his King Henry IV's death as well as disassociating himself with Falstaff after he is crowned King. These instances, along with others throughout the play, show the self-serving tendencies of both characters.

However, we can proudly witness the maturation of the young King from wild & dissolute young Prince Hal into one of the most revered monarchs in English history, King Henry V. Part II remains an intriguing play due to its paradoxical nature, yet unfortunately rarely acted out today. Now that I have read Henry IV(I&II) for the first time, I gladly move on to one of my personal favorites, Henry V. I recommend both parts(Folger editions) for all Shakespeare enthusiasts - they have given me greater insight into the young Henry V - when he was more concerned with downing a pint of ale rather than downing the French at Agincourt.

2 Magnificent Quotes from Henry IV Part II -
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." - King Henry IV
"He hath eaten me out of house and home." - Mistress Quickly

This is the play where Henry IV squashes the Percy rebellion but himself becomes ill and dies. So, Price Hal becomes King Henry V and this leads to the next play of that name.

The wonderful Falstaff is also on glorious display. This is also the play with the famous tavern scene (Act II, Scene IV) that can be read endlessly with new enjoyment.

Everyone has his or her own take on Falstaff and his treatment at the hands of Henry V, but I dislike it even though I understand it. Prince Hal and his transformation into Henry V is not someone I admire a lot. Nor is Falstaff's manner of living, but his wit is so sharp and his intelligence so vast that it is easy to still delight in him.

But, you certainly don't need me to tell you anything about Shakespeare. Like millions of other folks, I am in love with the writing. However, as all of us who read Shakespeare know, it isn't a simple issue. Most of us need help in understanding the text. There are many plays on words, many words no longer current in English and, besides, Shakespeare's vocabulary is richer than almost everyone else's who ever lived. There is also the issue of historical context, and the variations of text since the plays were never published in their author's lifetime.

For those of us who need that help and want to dig a bit deeper, the Arden editions of Shakespeare are just wonderful.

-Before the text of the play we get very readable and helpful essays discussing the sources and themes and other important issues about the play.

-In the text of the play we get as authoritative a text as exists with helpful notes about textual variations in other sources. We also get many many footnotes explaining unusual words or word plays or thematic points that would likely not be known by us reading in the 21st century.

-After the text we get excerpts from likely source materials used by Shakespeare and more background material to help us enrich our understanding and enjoyment of the play.

However, these extras are only available in the individual editions. If you buy the "Complete Plays" you get text and notes, but not the before and after material which add so much! Plus, the individual editions are easier to read from and handier to carry around.

This is the play where the Percy rebellion begins and centers around the Achilles like Hotspur. Eventually, Hotspur (Henry Percy) and Prince Hal (Henry Monmouth - later Henry V) battle in single combat.

We also get to see the contrast between these young men in temperament and character. King Henry wishes his son were more like Hotspur. Prince Hal realizes his own weaknesses and seems to try to assure himself (and us) that when the time comes he will change and all his youthful foolishness will be forgotten. Wouldn't that be a luxury we wish we could all have afforded when we were young?

Of course, Prince Hal's guide through the world of the cutpurse and highwayman is the Lord of Misrule, the incomparable Falstaff. His wit and gut are featured in full. When Prince Hal and Poins double-cross Falstaff & company, the follow on scenes are funny, but full of consequence even into the next play.

But, you certainly don't need me to tell you anything about Shakespeare. Like millions of other folks, I am in love with the writing. However, as all of us who read Shakespeare know, it isn't a simple issue. Most of us need help in understanding the text. There are many plays on words, many words no longer current in English and, besides, Shakespeare's vocabulary is richer than almost everyone else's who ever lived. There is also the issue of historical context, and the variations of text since the plays were never published in their author's lifetime.

For those of us who need that help and want to dig a bit deeper, the Arden editions of Shakespeare are just wonderful.

-Before the text of the play we get very readable and helpful essays discussing the sources and themes and other important issues about the play.

-In the text of the play we get as authoritative a text as exists with helpful notes about textual variations in other sources. We also get many many footnotes explaining unusual words or word plays or thematic points that would likely not be known by us reading in the 21st century.

-After the text we get excerpts from likely source materials used by Shakespeare and more background material to help us enrich our understanding and enjoyment of the play.

However, these extras are only available in the individual editions. If you buy the "Complete Plays" you get text and notes, but not the before and after material which add so much! Plus, the individual editions are easier to read from and handier to carry around.

Jackson - Fielder 1870 - 2000 is a comparison of photographs of Colorado, showing the changes that have occurred geographically and developmentally over the past century. William Henry Jackson took pictures at the end of the 19th century. John Fielder returned to the exact locations a hundred years later to capture the similarities and differences that have taken place. The book is fascinating and nostalgic not only to Coloradans, but to historians, geologists, environmentalists, as well as anyone who just loves to view the beautiful scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the surrounding foothills. I highly recommend this book for hours of enjoyment.

This is a spectacular book! Being a Colorado native I was facinated with the concept of "then and now" photos, looking closely for all changes in natural and man made landscape. I had hoped for a little more front range material, but totally enjoyed the wonderful photo art work Fielder is known for in our beautiful state. My entire family has spent hours viewing the pages. I own several other similar books on Colorado. This is most definitely a star addition to the collection.

A fourth generation Coloradoan, I can appreciate the time and patience it must have taken for John Fielder to assemble this photo archive. Who knows if Jackson left exact notes as to where he was standing when he composed his shots? It looks as if Fielder had taken great pains to get the shot from the same or similar vantage point as Jackson. It was great to see that some aspects remained the same, and the changes were interesting too. My sister had her name on a waiting list for three months before she was able to purchase this book for me, and I'm very glad she did. If the publisher ever gets more, the next one is for my sis. It's a great book for our public libraries, too. What's with the shortage?

There are few books out there that play on the borders of both worthlessness and pricelessness. This is one of them.

Cloud brings out life-changing principles in his analysis of boundaries, bonding, good and evil, and adulthood. It has the potential of completely revamping your view of healthy interaction with others (and God).

At the same time, it is very poorly written. I found it to be unstructured, long-winded, and completely unengaging in many places. Moreover, there is frequent misuse of scripture and a number of statements that could be taken to horribly unhealthy extremes.

Read the book. Be changed, but be wary.

I have read many Christian books-this is my favorite. It opens on Truth and Grace and Time. Key elements of understanding our role in God's kingdom. It focuses on taking responsibility and quite honestly when not to. Dr. Cloud references scriptures at every turn so you can feel confident these teachings and wisdom, are biblical. My friends have noticed changes in my areas of acceptance and placing boundaries and it has helped our relationships tremendously. I have learned to love God more because of this book.

A-plus! This is a GREAT book that helped me understand how my past affected every area of my life (work, relationships, and my underlying attitudes). Although I had experienced great success in the business world, my personal relationships were suffering terribly and I was miserable on the inside. This book helped me understand why and how to change.

It clearly explained the important things I needed but didn't get out of each developmental stage while growing up from an infant to an adult. While reading the book, it became clear how I developed coping mechanisms to get through life--trying to get my needs met--with mixed results. On the outside, I was a picture of success, but on the inside I was tired, empty, unhappy and frustrated.

With this understanding, and a continued commitment to find new ways to think, act and live, I am now learning to live a life that promises to be happier and healthier. Thanks Dr. Cloud for your part in bringing about these changes in me!

I highly recommend other books written by Henry Cloud's (Safe People, Boundaries) as they are also well written and very good resources for healing the innermost areas of the heart and minds to help enjoy the journey to wholeness and joy!

'Changes That Heal' is a book that is informative and life changing. Change and Healing IS possible! Definitely worth reading! A-plus!

"Safe People" deals with the problem of character discernment, or evaluating who is good for us and who isn't. According to the authors, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, "safe people are individuals who draw us closer to being the people God intended us to be." Cloud and Townsend "believe the Bible contains the keys to understanding how to tell safe people from unsafe ones. It also teaches how to become safe people for others. In this age of broken relationships, these scriptural principles are both timeless and timely."

The authors devote Chapters 1 through 4 to examining and discussing who unsafe people are and the identifying traits of unsafe people. Chapters 5 through 8 examine the origin of the problem: why one might choose unsafe people to be in relationship with and how to repair this problem. The rest of the book is devoted to learning more about what safe people are and why we need them. The authors offer practical help on successfully meeting and relating to safe people. Overall, the book is designed to help one look both outside and inside oneself. As the authors cite from Matthew 7:5, "First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Cloud and Townsend raise a valuable point in that people tend to look for people to be in relationship with who are "spiritual," "godly, "ambitious," "fund to be with," and so on, and yet, these are not the issues that cause relationships to break apart. Relationships break apart because one partner doesn't listen to the other; because of perfectionistic tendencies; because of emotional distance; because of controlling tendencies; for promises that are made but not followed through; from condemnation, judgment, and anger; and most of all, because of a lack of or breakdown in trust. "We tend to look on the outside and not the inside of a person," the authors state. "We look at worldly success, charm, looks, humor, status and education, accomplishments, talents and giftedness, or religious activity." None of these qualities are character issues, which are precisely at the heart of both successful and failed relationships.

But the authors do not merely point the finger at unsafe people outside of ourselves. To begin with, a critical question they ask their readers is to reflect on what each one has learned about him- or herself from failed relationships. Furthermore, they tackle the issue of how our own actions reflect our relationship with God and how God lives through us. "The church often emphasizes our relationship with God and de-emphasizes our relationships with other people," they write. "We need to be around others who help us to grow and become the people who God made us to be ... We often learn about the divine from the fleshly. As John writes, 'If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen' (1 John 4:20)."

Recognizing that the typical response to being in relationships that have hurt is to retreat into isolation, withdraw, and shut down emotionally, Cloud and Townsend respond by citing the Bible to indicate that God created us to be in relationship with one another. "Finding safe people is not just a luxury," they write. "It's a necessary part of growing spiritually mature ... Everyone is created to be relational."

One way the authors counter the cultural norm toward self-sufficiency is by comparing spiritual hunger with physical hunger. "God created within us a hunger, a longing to be known and loved. This hunger functions exactly like physical hunger. It's a signal. It causes discomfort, a warning saying, 'Get up and get connected. Your tank's empty.' Hunger keeps us aware of our needs ... Make friends with your needs. Welcome them. They are a gift from God, designed to draw you into relationship with him and with his safe people. Your needs are the cure to the sin of self-sufficiency," which pushes us only further into isolation.

"The best example of a safe person is found in Jesus," they write. "In him were found the three qualities of a safe person: dwelling, grace, and truth." Safe people are also a very forgiving people, according to Cloud and Townsend. "They expect failure and disappointment from those they love ... Learn to receive forgiveness [and] learn to give forgiveness," they suggest.

Finally, the authors deal with whether to repair or replace a hurting relationship. "The chief theme of the entire Bible is reconciliation of unsafe relationships." While by no means suggesting that people remain in unsafe, dysfunctional, or abusive relationships, the authors differentiate between forgiveness in a relating sense and clearly drawing one's boundaries.

"The good news is that you can be saved from a life of relational hell with unsafe people. The bad news is that you must take up your cross and do the hard work of dealing with your own character problems. We have found in our lives and in the lives of others that this process works. If you will do the hard work of distinguishing safe and unsafe people, abiding deeply with the safe ones and dealing redemptively with the unsafe ones, you will develop an abundant life, full of satisfying relationships and meaningful service to God."

This is a book everyone should read. It can be life changing if while you are reading it you ask yourself, "am I a safe person?" It takes you through the characteristics of an unsafe person, a safe person, how to become a safe person, and then what to do with unsafe relationships you already have. You need to look at safe people from both sides - are your friends safe, and are you safe?

This book is full of life-changing material. It teaches you about discernment and how to break the cycle of bad relationships. Since it is based on Biblical principles, it gives you a framework on which to build relationships. I read it along with the workbook as part of a Bible study a couple of years ago and it made a tremendous impact on my life. I recommend this book to anyone I meet who is having any kind of relationship problem - either with their friends or their family. It is excellent!

a good read, but can be confusing for kids. It takes a while to comprehend all of the Shakespearian langauge, but is very interesting. It is boring at parts.

The Winter's Tale is a lot of things: heart-breaking, exhilerating, funny, beautiful, romantic, profound, etc. Yeah, it's all here. This is one of the bard's best plays, and I can't believe they don't teach this in schools. Of course, the ones they teach are excellent, but I can see high school kids enjoying this one a lot more than some of those others (Othello, King Lear).

The story is, of course, brilliant. King Leontes goes into a jealous rage at the beginning against his wife Hermione. Leontes is very mistaken in his actions, and the result is tragic. Shakespeare picks the story back up sixteen years later with the children, and the story works to a really, really surprising end of bittersweet redemption.

This is one of Shakespeare's bests. The first half is a penetrating and devestating, but the second half shows a capacity for salvation from the depths of despair. Also, this being Shakespeare, the blank verse is gorgeous and the characters are well drawn, and the ending is a surprise unparalleled in the rest of his plays. The Winter's Tale is a truly profound and entertaining read.

The Winter's Tale contains some of the most technically difficult solutions to telling a story that have ever appeared in a play. If you think you know all about how a play must be constructed, read The Winter's Tale. It will greatly expand your mind.

The play opens near the end of a long visit by Polixenes, the king of Bohemia, to the court of his childhood friend, Leontes, the king of Sicily. Leontes wants his friend to stay one more day. His friend declines. Leontes prevails upon his wife, Hermione, to persuade Polixenes. Hermione does her husband's bidding, having been silent before then. Rather than be pleased that she has succeeded, Leontes goes into a jealous rage in which he doubts her faithfulness. As his jealousy grows, he takes actions to defend his misconceptions of his "abused" honor that in fact abuse all those who have loved him. Unable to control himself, Leontes continues to pursue his folly even when evidence grows that he is wrong. To his great regret, these impulsive acts cost him dearly.

Three particular aspects of the play deserve special mention. The first is the way that Shakespeare ties together actions set 16 years apart in time. Although that sounds like crossing the Grand Canyon in a motorcycle jump, Shakespeare pulls off the jump rather well so that it is not so big a leap. The second is that Shakespeare captures entirely different moods from hilarious good humor to deep depression and remorse closely adjacent to one another. As a result, the audience is able to experience many more emotions than normally are evoked in a single play. Third, the play's final scene is as remarkable a bit of writing as you can imagine. Read it, and marvel!

After you finish reading this play, think about where your own loss of temper has had bad consequences. How can you give yourself time to get under control before acting rashly? How can you learn to be more open to positive interpretations of events, rather than dark and disturbing ones?

Love first, second, and always!

A fairly strong book with some pretty insightful stuff regarding the boundaries that you have to set and maintain in a dating relationship. The point of the book is that the boundaries you set now will determine the relationship you grow into later.

Very true, but I didn't really feel challenged by this book and felt that most of it was common sense. The chapter on physical boundaries basically said to save yourself for marriage. I agree, but what about other, hazier areas? Not answered.

Nothing very revolutionary and I'm not sure how much I'll apply anything new that I learned.

I think this book might be best for Christians new in their faith and really trying to get an idea for how a dating relationship fits into their life.

this is a great handbook for dating. i thought i was pretty good at the whole priorities and boundaries thing, but this book has helped to polish and shape some of that. it provided me with insight on many aspects of my dating experience . it has made it easier for me to understand and help my friends whose dating lives are less than satisfactory......

i reccomend this book especially if you just can't seem to find mr./ms. right, or if you have problems in the relationship you are in now.....it can make a world of difference in your life!

My family raved about "Boundaries In Marriage" (also written by the same authors as this book). I had never heard of the series before, but thought I would give this "dating" book a try. I have never spent so much time taking notes, (I didn't get the workbook and should have... but just ordered it) and highlighting things. It gave me a new sense of depth... for myself and for future relationships. It also ensured current beliefs and brought me to new levels that I otherwise wouldn't have obtained on my own. Though this book is based on the reader being Christian, the general idea is great for everyone... Christian or not!

This book is good if you can already read in a language that puts "case endings" on nouns, such as any of these: Greek from any other time including today's Demotiki; Latin; any Slavic, Baltic or Celtic language; German; Sanskrit; or Norse/Icelandic. Pharr empowers such a person quickly to read Homer well.

If you're new to the notion of "noun case," Pharr might feel overwhelming. Use the three-short-volume set by Schoder and Horrigan (ISBNs 0829405097,082940528 and 0829405240) to learn Homeric Greek by a more gradual method. Then use Pharr as your quick reference grammar.

After Pharr's Lesson 12 you plunge directly into the Iliad, the real text, from Book I Line 1, and you understand it! You learn the grammar as you go, with footnotes explaining the forms you'll get lessons for later. Pharr has you read all of Book I of the Iliad.

This is an excellent way to learn classical Greek. It takes you straight to unsimplified Homer within a few lessons and if you tough it out you can end up able to read Homeric Greek quite well. It works fine as a teach-yourself book. I had had a semester of Greek many years ago, but I was essentially starting from scratch.
Each lesson provides the vocabulary for a few lines of Book I of the Iliad and sends you to the reference grammar at the back of the book to learn the grammar incrementally. Early on there are some prose sentences in Homeric Greek to translate, but these go away in later lessons. Once you have finished the book you will have read all of Book I and will be ready to continue through all of Homer (with a lexicon). My only gripe is that a few more prose sentences to illustrate the grammar points by repetition would have helped a bit. Overall a great teach yourself book.

After New Testament Greek, Homeric Greek is arguably the easiest dialect of Greek to learn, although the Classical tends to be standard. As the world of classical languages seems to lose ground in the schools, the introduction to Greek via Homer would prove an interesting exploration. This chestnut on the subject is well-done, concise and well-organized,leading briskly into the strangely distant yet near world of both the Iliad itself and the mysterious age of the Archaic Greeks whose sudden precipitous surging advance in the eighth century gave birth in a rapid clip to our most fundamental traditions. The Iliad, by a strange mystery, came first before everything and yet has always remained the greatest of the epics. Surprising to find this old standby at Amazon. If you feel like learning a mysterious language and poetry, this book would make a fine hobby. I.F. Stone (Cf. Socrates on Trial) learned Greek at seventy. Your move.

I am 40 years old and just read this book for the first time. I found this story to be a page-turner and very absorbing. Excellent local color and superb character development. You know, I think today's younger generation could take a few lessons from this story - the stocism these people demonstrated throughout their ordeal was fascinating. The simply did what they had to do and only complained periodically (with exception of Rosasharn - who bitched and whined all the time). This is also a great review of a bleak period in American history.

My advice to people who haven't read it is: by all means, read it, learn something about history and the human spirit.

Now for the oddities:

1. Maybe this was symbolic and I just glossed over it, but several times in the book, drivers (including the protagonists) are squashing with their vehicles animals who have the misfortune of using or crossing the road they use. Well, that was kind of strange I thought.

2. Why Connie left Rosasharn is sort of a mystery. She was pregnant for crying out loud. Was her constant carping about her wanting a house and nice things just driving him bug-s---?

3. Noah left and was never heard from again. I suppose you could argue that this was symbolic of a family disintegrating and how they dealt with it.

4. Now the really odd thing. It ended at a weird spot. Not much closure. I had to check to make sure pages weren't torn out of this old paperback. Wonder if other reviewers thought that was kind of dissatisfying....?

Quite simply, The Grapes of Wrath is THE Great American Novel.

This is the powerful story of the Joad family, "Okies" who are forced from their bank-foreclosed farm during the depression.

John Steinbeck's writing is sheer literary art. There is beautiful description, incredibly realistic dialogue, and a compelling story that captures the heart and seeks out the very core of one's conscious. And the beauty of it is that it's thoroughly understandable. The eloquent writing and flawless story can be savored by anyone from a junior high school student to a PhD.

The book is also innovative, intertwining short chapters that capture the plight of the dispossessed with longer chapters that follow the long road traveled by the Joad family to California. This is accomplished without at all disrupting the flow of the story.

No wonder that this book won the Pulitzer Prize and was the key work cited for Mr. Steinbeck's Nobel Prize.

It's a mighty piece of literature.

This book cannot but be considered one of the greatest works of American literature. Its plot is simple, almost literally pedestrian, but it magically conveys the feelings not just of its characters, but of an entire social movement and era.

The device of alternating chapters between the tale of the Joad family and descriptive narratives of the society around them only strengthens things. This is no academic, dusty view of history; this is reality, as people lived and thought and experienced.

The human attachment to the soil, the desire for home and community, the struggle for social justice, the tyranny of property, the myth of the Promised Land, the hope and dreams of a new life - there is something here on every level, the social, the spiritual, and the emotional.

The beginning of the novel is a bit slow, but it slowly picks up momentum as it travels west. By its end, one cannot but be riveted by the Joads and the struggles they endure. And one can feel the grapes of wrath building, the knowledge that some way, somehow, the human will to survive can never be defeated.

But, despite its clear social messages, this is not a political tract. The novel's ending takes one of the most intimate of human actions into a bare, stark necessity. Eroticism, motherhood, generosity, desperation - what is it? We cannot tell for sure, but we know only that it is human. The most horrific of our trials only serve to bring out our humanity. A haunting and unforgettable message.